"A [preacher] who does not love art, poetry, music and nature can be dangerous. Blindness and deafness toward the beautiful are not incidental; they are necessarily reflected in his [preaching]." — BXVI

30 July 2010

Coffee Mug Browsing

[NB. Apologies for being so quiet lately. I've yet to figure out how to adjust my Roman lifestyle with my American schedule. This failure is taking its toll. Fortunately, Friday is my play day!]

Judge's decision causes "helplessness and anarchy." Frankly, reading the decision is scary. Judge Bolton is preoccupied with the policy implications of the law and not its legal standing. She spends a great deal of time writing about how the law will "burden" law enforcement, etc. That's not her job. We hire politicians to deal with money and logistics.

Well-worth the time to read the whole thing: What unique contribution can a Catholic education make to the maintenance of western liberal democracy? More specifically, what contribution can a uniquely Dominican education make?

That Catholic professor of Catholicism at the Univ of IL who was fired for. . .GASP!. . .teaching Catholicism has been rehired. This is good news. Now, he should pursue his lawsuit and find out the real reason he was fired.

Anne Rice "breaks up" with Christianity. . .not with Christ, mind you. . .but with Christianity. Ah, the fruits of a Spirit of Vatican Two religious education! Unfortunately, this latest development in the author's spiritual saga was entirely predictable. Her autobiography is chocked-full of mental reservations, doctrinal dodges, and self-authorized exemptions. Fortunately, the Spirit is hard at work and we will likely see Mrs. Rice among us again.

No, B.O. is not a Muslim. And even if he were a Muslim, he could still be an excellent American President. That he is not an excellent American President has nothing to do with his faith or lack thereof.

6 comments:

Padre, the problems in faulty teaching of the Faith predates Vat II. As a personal example, I remember my father relating how the parish priest had counseled him that the use of condoms was acceptable in order to ensure martial harmony with my athiest mother. That was some years before Vat II, and the priest wasn't a hippie wannabe (he passed away the following year from old age.)

A more well known example would be the full hearted embrace by Catholic Americans of JFK as "one of us". This happened even after he'd made clear his religious beliefs would play no part in his Presidential decisions. That sort of talk gets Pelosi, Biden, etc. roundly castigated these days. If you can't live your faith just how truly are you a member of it? Yet Catholic Americans in general saw nothing wrong with it back then.

Vat II sometimes seems to get a bum rap. But I'll stay off that particular soap box (for now).

That Cambridge story helps explain something I've been wondering ever since I read "Let Dons Delight" by Ronald Knox, a wonderful book set in Oxford. One of the chapters is entitled "Cakes and Ale", and I couldn't figure out why.

From Fr. Sweeney,"They are speaking, if at all, to an aging elite, to Catholics whose education in College was completed prior to 1970. ... students were presented a Catholic view of the human person, grounding in the moral teaching, insight into the relationship of faith and reason along with a confidence in reason, and a sense of the common good and the necessity for responsible citizenship."

I agree with subvet that Vat. II gets a bum rap. A perusal of pre-Vatican II sermons show that many of the problems associated with the council have a long history anterior to it. See for example the many sermons of Fr. Franz Hunolt: http://cbworm.stblogs.com/catholic-sermons/